A SURGE of water from the A55 caused a Tsunami like deluge to wash over a village near the road flooding more than 25 properties.

The water poured through Talybont on Thursday, November 22.

More than 100 people who packed into Talgai Hall in nearby Llandegai last night believed the flood was man-made they thought it was a direct result of the action taken to clear the standing water which shut the A55 between Llanfairfechan and Bangor.

But the North and Mid Wales Trunk Road Agency revealed the cause was the sheer volume of floodwater which flowed into the road causing it to overtop and pour into the village.

David Cooil, the agencys network manager, denied claims that water was pumped from the road into the village or that sluice or flood gates were opened.

He said a surge of water flowed from Maes y Groes onto the A55, it then overtopped and burst into the village.

We mobilised some pumping equipment which would have pumped the water from the A55 into the Ogwen but the water dissipated before we got the pumps to the site, he said.

In a heated exchange, he acknowledged there were problems in relation to the design of the road and the clearing of culverts, which they are currently investigating.

Paula and Dave Sapsfords home on Dol Heulyg was one of the worst hit.

She demanded to know how the flood happened so quickly.

She said: It went from nothing to my kitchen being under a foot and half under water in half an hour. It came like a Tsunami-like deluge which swept everything in its path.

Barely 15 minutes later and the water had risen to three feet in the porch.

Mrs Sapsford who was at home with her three dogs at the time had to wade through waist high water in her garden while the dogs swam what had now become an outside pool to check on her other dogs which were in kennels at the other side of her home.

Her home was totally devastated by a three foot high river of sludge, mud and dirty water.

Another Talybont resident called on the roads agency and Gwynedd council to make sure they clear the culverts and drainage ditches in Talybont and Llanllechid to avoid it happening again.

Sheila Owen said it was the second time that the village was flooded out from water which came off the A55.

It happened in 1987 and nothing has been done in 26 years.

That time the A55 was flooded and the water came straight into the village. I was flooded then but we built a wall after that so I was lucky this time around, only the garden was flooded. But about 26 properties in the village were affected and the church (Capel Bethlehem) is still shut because of it.

She called on the officials to have a warning system in place, if they need to clear the A55 of flood water.

With a bit of preparation and a bit of warning this could have been avoided, Ms Owen said.

The Agency said the cause of the flooding on the A55 and its wider impact was still under investigation.

But it went on to add that Transport Minister Carl Sargeant had committed an extra s3 million to improve the resilience of the North Wales road network to flooding with a particular emphasis on the A55.

Arfon AM Alun Ffred Jones, who chaired the meeting, said he would ensure that money was used to tackle floodung issues in Talybont.

After the meeting Cllr Dafydd Meurig said: I hope people got some of the answers thay were looking for. The important thing is to ensure steps are taken to avoid this happening again.